Study: As rents increase, so does Seattle's homeless population
New study from Zillow shows a 5 percent rent increase in Seattle would mean hundreds more on the streets
Published 4:52 pm, Friday, August 4, 2017
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,750
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,750
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,790
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,790
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,790
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,790
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,800
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,800
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,800
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,800
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,800
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,800
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,800
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,800
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,850
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,850
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,900
Median one-bedroom July rent: $1,900
Median one-bedroom July rent: $2,000
Median one-bedroom July rent: $2,000
Median one-bedroom July rent: $2,070
Median one-bedroom July rent: $2,070
Median one-bedroom July rent: $2,075
Median one-bedroom July rent: $2,100
Median one-bedroom July rent: $2,100
Median one-bedroom July rent: $2,300
Seattle's tech industry has propelled explosive growth in the city. It has boosted salaries for those lucky enough to land jobs in the industry, contributed to the unending building construction marked by cranes that dot the city skyline, and encouraged a record influx of newcomers to call the Pacific Northwest home.
But these gains haven't been distributed equally.
A report released this week by Seattle-based real estate date firm Zillow claims there is a strong connection between cities with rising rents and growing homeless populations, and that some metro areas with the strongest job markets are also experiencing crisis levels of homelessness. Seattle is no exception.
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The report found that in Seattle alone, a 5 percent increase in rent would leave 258 more people homeless. The city has been in a state of emergency over homelessness since Mayor Ed Murray first made the announcement in November 2015, and the most recent count of Seattle's homeless population tallied 3,857 people unsheltered and 4,665 in shelters or transitional housing. Those figures represent a 9 percent, or 963-person, jump over the 2016 count.
"We've seen so much pressure in rental housing markets that it's created a rental affordability crisis that has spilled over into a homelessness crisis at lower income levels," said Zillow senior economist Dr. Skylar Olsen in a statement about the findings. "Often, the rental demand in these markets isn't being met with a sufficient supply. There are several cities grappling with this problem, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone."
RELATED: Pay grows, but not equally: Salaries of common Seattle jobs
Data from apartment-rental site Zumper shows the median rent for a Seattle one-bedroom in July was $1,940, according to their August national rent report. That makes Seattle the eighth most-expensive rental market in the nation, a position it has held since February, according to its data.
Scroll through the slideshow above to see how much it costs to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the top 15 most-expensive Seattle neighborhoods.
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